A fourth doctor has died from the dreaded Ebola virus following a failed attempt to relocate the sick medical professional from West Africa's Sierra Leone to Germany, marking a major setback in the battle against the outbreak.

Several hours after the World Health Organization declared that they would not be able to assist in her relocation, Dr. Olivet Buck succumbed to death late Saturday.

Like Us on Facebook

On Friday, Sierra Leone had requested for financial aid in order to assist in Buck's evacuation to a medical facility in Hamburg, Germany, a move initially approved by President Ernest Bai Koroma.

According to a letter from the Sierra Leonean president, the German hospital was already "in readiness to receive [Buck]," citing that the country could not afford to lose another of its doctors.

Should the request have been granted, Buck could have been the first Sierra Leone local doctor to receive foreign medical treatment.

However, a response from WHO representative Tarik Jasarevic explained that the organization was "unable to organize evacuation of this doctor to [Germany], but is exploring all options on how to ensure best care."

Jasarevic's letter also stated that WHO is considering giving the Sierra Leonean doctor access to experimental drugs.

From the over 300 Ebola doctors infected with the same disease they are trying to cure, about 144 has already passed away, bringing the already distraught West African countries to a more vulnerable state.

Medical personnel are most susceptible to the virus as they are in constant contact with infected patients - and it's much worse for West African medical personnel as they lack both the necessary training and protective gear to assist in properly fighting infection.

Ebola is not airborne but it can be transmitted via contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, or even from the cadavers of those who had died from it.

Already low on medical experts to treat the virus, infection has aggravated the shortage of doctors and nurses to help treat Ebola patients.

Reports indicate that only foreign health workers have been relocated from the Liberia and Sierra Leone to receive treatment abroad after contracting the disease.

TagsWest Africa, Sierra Leone, Ebola doctor, Dead, WHO, medical personnel, Virus, outbreak, Infection